Many moons ago, my family and I had a demo disc, showcasing all sorts of different Sierra On-Line products and games. I spent hours trying out games, from The Castle of Dr. Brain to The Even More Incredible Machine. The one demo that stood out, though, was Freddy Pharkas, a short, single-puzzle demonstration that was almost painfully self-aware of its existence as a demo. After finishing it, the narrator would taunt you, saying that if you want to find out what happens next, you'll just have to buy the full game, now won'tcha?
In retrospect, there was absolutely no reason that I should have liked that demo or the game itself (which we eventually bought), not because it's not good, but more because I was six when it came out, so a game riddled with clever humour and at least 5 prostitutes (one of whom is a sheep) should have gone right over my head. More than likely it was the poo jokes that kept me coming back for more, but even at the tender age of however old I was, I was able to identify (although I certainly couldn't have explained it) the satire the game offers.
I loved 90's Sierra On-line adventure games. I would certainly have to take my socks off to count the number of games put out by that company that I have played and enjoyed. So, after having played games like King's Quest VI into the ground, with its familiar Walk/Look/Touch/Talk gameplay, it was possible to notice and appreciate how much fun the makers of Freddy Pharkas were having in toying with the conventions.
As a for example, many games end up seeming a bit absurd due to their inventory. In many cases, people are able to carry substantially more than any rucksackless person should be able to have on their person at any one time. Rather than being more responsible with their inventory, Freddy just goes crazy with it. At various points, you grab hold of such outrageous items as a full-sized ladder and even (literally) a hundred large bags of baking soda. All of this is accompanied by a funny narration describing your pants stretching and tearing under the pressure of carrying such large items.
The game goes even further, incorporating characters and references to other Sierra games. These aren't exactly subtle references either. Unless you are aware of the Leisure Suit Larry series and have played King's Quest V, your gigglebox is going to be SOL when those cameos appear.
Before I rag on some of the game's shortcomings, I should say that it's funny. References and inventory aside, it's a game that rewards looking closely at things (and I mean that literally, as in clicking the eye icon on everything you come across), as a respectable amount of time has gone into providing funny, punny explanations for the world around you. The humour doesn't always hit its mark (racial stereotypes, ahoy!), but you'll certainly get more of a chuckle than you would doing another playthrough of Gears Of War. Although I originally played the game in its CD-ROM form, about 15% of the non-character dialogue was trimmed during the transfer to voice-over, resulting (according to Wikipedia) in a substantial amount of jokes being cut. So it's a toss-up. The voice acting is pretty great, but so are the jokes.
I ran into a couple of problems during the four or so hours it took to see the game the whole way through. One of them was just a little glitch when I tried to enter the saloon during a stage where it was integral for me to get inside. In clicking the door, I was moved to the inside of the door but never changed screens. Using the walk button resulted in me walking up and down the face of the saloon until I eventually re-exited then re-entered the bar without a hiccup. It really didn't affect anything, but it made for a fun couple of seconds playing Spider-man all over the entrance.
The other problem I ran into was that the game just kind of gave up. At one point, everything just stopped and I was returned to DOS with no explanation as to why. Re-loading the game I had no problem re-starting, but, since I hadn't saved the game in awhile there was an irritating amount of replay needed before I caught up. It's often said when playing these kinds of games that one should "save early, save often" and it's very very true.
I suppose before I wrap things up I should explain what the game is about, but the title already tells you everything you need to know. You're a cowboy-turned-pharmacist, forced out of retirement when your town comes under attack from a mysterious threatening force. Half the time you solve your problems with pistols and ass-kickery, but the first half of the game requires you to practice pharmacology. Hell, the first Chapter of the game is dedicated to filling prescriptions for various townsfolk. These parts of the game are half semi-tedious puzzle problems, half theft deterrent. In order to know how to fill these prescripts, you need a copy of the manual that comes with the game. Without the manual, you're screwed (or, at least, you would have been in 1993, as long as you didn't have access to the internet... I have a vague recollection of logging onto CompuServe to look up a walkthrough), but even with it, you're still spending a good 15% of the game looking at your pharmacy table, mixing potions and whatnot.
But, if it sounds like I'm whining, I'm not. I enjoyed playing the game again, even though, after finishing it so many times in my youth, the whole experience was on auto-pilot. Game Informer called it one of the best adventures games of all time. I probably don't agree, but if were drawing on a ratio of satirical self-awareness versus game quality, it certainly takes the top spot.
Rating: 3.25 stars
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